Letters to the Editor

Feb. 22, 2016

Meeting Patients’ Needs

TO THE EDITOR:

Re “Patients Facing Barriers in Care” (Feb. 16): While we have made strides in tackling discrimination against the transgender community, the challenges that transgender patients face when seeking medical treatment underscore the significant work that is left to be done. Discrimination within the health care system often leads to transgender individuals’ being harassed or even refused medical care. This is particularly alarming when you consider that the transgender community was identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having the highest percentage of newly diagnosed H.I.V. infections. Ending the AIDS epidemic won’t be possible without improving access to preventive care, testing and quality treatment for this community.

Jerome Ernst, M.D. Manhattan

The writer is chief medical officer of Amida Care, a nonprofit health plan.

TO THE EDITOR:

As a radiologist, I read this article with interest. In diagnostic imaging a discrepancy between gender identity and patient anatomy can raise unnecessary alarms. We attempt to ensure that CT and M.R.I. scans are performed under the correct patient’s name and medical record number, and the presence of male genitalia in a patient with a female name and female gender in the medical record can cause undue concern. There is a place for a patient’s gender identity and preferred pronouns in the health care setting, but until we eliminate the possibility of human error, a patient’s biological gender will remain a crucial piece of demographic information.

Matt Barkovich, M.D. San Francisco

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